Pinocchio

Performed in the style of the commedia dell’arte, this production of Pinocchio is both historical and innovative. With the look and feel of Renaissance Italy, colorful costumes are topped by exaggerated partial masks. Children and their parents will be caught up in the adventures of the wooden boy/puppet presented as a live musical production with original music. The talented actors, the clever sets, the intimate staging, all combine to capture and hold the attention of viewers who are old enough to relate to the length and fullness of the story. After all, Pinocchio must contend with con artists, robbers, his transformation into a donkey, and his adventures inside a giant fish. He is endearing because he is so “human.” The filming of the stage performance is so expertly done that one can smell the greasepaint. While the video is “hosted” by two theater attendees, an older woman and her young male charge, it is the play itself that excites. Their post-play discussion of the themes inherent in Pinocchio is interesting but a touch anticlimactic, as are the behind-the-scenes interviews. Children’s theater is alive and well!